The information described in this background section is not admitted to be prior art.
Fuel cells generally operate by exothermically reacting a fuel and an oxidant to produce electricity, heat, and chemical reaction products. For example, fuel cells utilizing molecular hydrogen (H2) fuel and molecular oxygen (O2) as an oxidant generate electricity, heat, and water. Even though these reactants can be highly pure there will always be some level of inert gas in the reactants. These inert gases cannot be consumed in the fuel cell and will accumulate over time resulting in decreased fuel cell performance due to the reduction in reactant partial pressure. Eventually the inert gas must be removed from the fuel cell to restore fuel cell electrochemical performance. In some applications, such as underwater vehicles for example, it is not feasible to externally vent gases purged from closed-loop fuel cells. In such applications any gases purged from closed-loop fuel cells must be stored onboard until the completion of a vehicle operation or mission at which point the stored gases can be vented. The onboard storage of gases purged from fuel cells for the duration of an operation or mission requires sufficiently large onboard storage vessels, which can disadvantageously increase vehicle size and/or weight.